El Fenix opened in downtown Dallas in 1918, when Miguel "Mike" Martinez turned a small café into what's widely considered the first Tex-Mex restaurant — the birthplace of the combination plate that came to define the cuisine. Its cheese enchiladas and Wednesday enchilada special have fed Dallas for more than a century.
The flagship on McKinney Avenue still anchors a Texas institution, and El Fenix is the 2026 Centurion Award winner in Dallas.
Each Centurion Award is a dated record tied to one year’s evaluation — earned annually, never carried over. Open a year for the full citation and verification details.
Awards run one calendar year and renew only if the business clears the bar again. Selection is by published criteria, never for sale.
Visit El Fenix
This page is the standing record for El Fenix (2026). It was not bought, voted on, or sponsored — only winners are published, and an award that stops holding up is revoked, not quietly removed.
If you’ve put in the years, you may already clear the bar. Evaluation is free, private, and never for sale.